Arizona First State in Nation to Criminalize Abortions Based on Sex or Race of Fetus

Will this new law disproportionately affect minorities particularly Chinese, Indians and Mexicans? Doesn’t this turn the whole Roe v. Wade decision on its head? Shouldn’t a woman, under the Roe v. Wade analysis, be free to have an abortion irrespective of the intent i.e. to abort a female or minority child? I personally do not want to see our young teenage girls have abortions because I strongly believe the impact on their lives is devastating. Nevertheless, I wonder what impact these laws would have on the young minority teenage girl in Arizona who is pregnant and wants an abortion. This is very intriguing . Do you think other states will follow Arizona?

“Arizona has become the first state in the nation to criminalize abortions based on the sex or race of a fetus.

(Here’s a report from the Arizona Republic and here’s a link to the new law, signed yesterday by Ariz. Governor Jan Brewer.)

The law makes it a Class 3 felony, punishable up to 7 years in jail, for doctors to perform sex- or race-selection abortions.

Republican supporters of the law said that some populations increasingly seek abortions based on the fetus’ sex. Legislator Steve Montenegro said he advocated for the legislation because of fears women would choose to abort because they didn’t like the gender or the race of the baby, according to the Arizona Republic.

But Democratic lawmakers, the newspaper reports, said there is scant evidence that this is a problem. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat from Phoenix, said that the only proof offered of this practice was a magazine article discussing abortions in China and India.

The law also allows the father of an aborted fetus to bring a civil action and to recover money damages against a doctor or other health professional who performs a race- or sex-selection abortion. . .”~Full Story on WSJ

~Photocredit: Infoplease.com

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